Yakult’s Current Position and Future Vision
In 1930, Yakult founder Minoru Shirota succeeded in strengthening and culturing a strain of lactic acid bacteria that contributes to human health at the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto Imperial University, and in 1935, he began manufacturing and selling Yakult at the Shirota Institute for Research on Protective Bacteria. This fermented milk drink, born in Japan out of the desire to help as many people as possible become healthy, is now manufactured and sold in 40 countries and regions, including Japan, where approximately 80,000 Yakult Ladies deliver products that are enjoyed by around 38 million people each day.
The Company created entirely new value with products that utilize microorganisms to contribute to people’s health, and we spread this value throughout the world. In today’s world, an enterprise like this could be described as a venture company or startup, and the DNA that drives innovation through groundbreaking ideas undoubtedly thrives within the Company. By returning to our roots, we will once again create new value that contributes to people’s health around the world, and continue to grow as a company. With this in mind, when I was appointed president in 2021, I set forth “Evolve into a healthcare company that continues contributing to people’s health around the world” as our aspirational goal in Yakult Group Global Vision 2030 (hereinafter, “long-term vision”).
Four Years Supported by the Yakult 1000 Series
In the first half of this long-term vision, in line with the basic policy of taking on the challenge of innovation under Medium-term Management Plan 2021–2024 (hereinafter, “previous medium-term plan”), we proactively took on the challenge of creating new value in line with changes in the social environment. However, 2021 was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and although the impacts of the pandemic varied by region, Yakult’s sales activities and performance were affected substantially worldwide.
The catalyst enabling us to overcome this difficult situation was the Yakult 1000 series. This product, which contributes to stress relief in situations of temporary mental stress and to improved sleep quality, has been wellreceived by a wide range of people, successfully creating a new market.
Furthermore, over the four years of the previous medium-term plan, as part of our evolution into a healthcare company, we have expanded our business domains beyond the Yakult 1000 series to include the plant-based food, medical biome*, and animal health domains.
In this way, we have made steady progress toward our long-term vision, including advances in existing businesses and entry into new markets.
* Medical biome: A term unique to Yakult Honsha that comprehensively represents its business activities in the healthcare field, including microbiome (microbiota) research to support solutions to various challenges, food development based on such research, and the creation of new value.
Evolving into a Healthcare Company and Targeting Renewed Growth
We formulated our Medium-term Management Plan 2025–2030 (hereinafter, “the medium-term plan”) for the second half of our long-term vision, under the basic policy entitled “Shape Our Own Future.” To this end, we will focus on the following three key themes over the next six years: Expand business domains and evolve our business model; Pursue co-creation with local societies and evolution of our global expansion; and Evolve our management foundation that supports growth.
Leveraging our strengths—evidence on probiotics accumulated through our research and development (R&D), our community-based sales organization, and resources such as our global brand Yakult — we will address these key themes to evolve into a healthcare company and achieve renewed growth. We are targeting consolidated net sales of ¥700 billion and operating profit of ¥90 billion by fiscal 2030.
Toward Our 100th Anniversary and the Future Beyond
It has been less than a century since we launched the world’s first probiotics products in 1935. In addition to Lacticaseibacillus paracasei strain Shirota (previously classified as Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota) and bifidobacteria, there must be many other types of bacteria useful to human health that we have yet to discover. Furthermore, I strongly believe there is great potential in discovering and applying beneficial bacteria for the health of humans, as well as animals and plants. As a company at the forefront of probiotics, I believe it is our responsibility to continue leading the field and contributing to the health of people around the world.
Health is a universal value. Regardless of country, region, language, ethnicity, or culture, it is a shared value sought by everyone. The Yakult Group will maintain efforts to achieve the aspirational goal of our long-term vision — evolving into a healthcare company to bring joy to people worldwide through contributions to health.
As we approach our 100th anniversary and the future beyond, we will continue moving forward steadily.
Hiroshi Narita,
President and Representative Director
Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd.
